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Shipshape Urban Farms
Techstars '22Mobile, US · Founded 2019 · Delaware corporation · 1 known investors
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Agritech company designing modular hydroponic farms that let operators grow about 5 acres of crops in 500 square feet.
Also known as Shipshape · ShipShape Urban Farms · SUF
Founders & leadership
Investors · 1
How we know: the Techstars portfolio · open dataset · Top 3000 Accelerator Startups (no YC) 2026-08 · Not right? Tell us
Reported raises · per SEC filings
Form D private placements$150K disclosed across 1 of 2 rounds · 2019–2025
▶$2.9MofferedJan 2025 · AgricultureRule 506(b)
- Kenneth Dale SpeetjensExecutive Officer, Director
- Offering amount
- $2.9M
- Minimum investment
- $25K
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$150KraisedNov 2019 · 2 investors · AgricultureRule 506(b)
- Kenneth Dale SpeetjensExecutive Officer
- Offering amount
- $1M
- Amount sold
- $150K
- Minimum investment
- $1
- First sale
- Nov 2019
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2019
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
Company profile
researched Sep 2026Shipshape Urban Farms is an agritech company that designs, manufactures and operates modular hydroponic controlled-environment farms. Its systems were originally built inside up-cycled shipping containers; the company later redesigned the system from scratch into modular farm units after concluding that container dimensions limited the profitability of the growing space. The company states its technology allows an operator to produce the equivalent of roughly 5 to 5.1 acres of greens within a 500-square-foot "Smart Farm," digitally and automatically controlled through a "Digital Farmer" application, and that its approach uses 90% less water than conventional farming.
Beyond hardware, Shipshape trains urban "agripreneurs" to operate the farms and provides ongoing support that includes training, data analysis, systems performance reporting and monthly supplies. Products are manufactured with partner BLOX. The company has also announced the "Hab," a planned 3D-printed hydroponic farm structure described as a "living building" designed around energy and water self-sufficiency, natural materials, modular adaptability, closed-loop hydroponics and renewable energy integration.
A research strand of the business involves space-based seed experiments. Working with ABOVE Space and with support from the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology and the accelerator Gener8tor, Shipshape sent lettuce and tomato seeds to the International Space Station in March 2024 aboard the SpaceX Dragon SPX-30 resupply mission as part of the MISSIE-19 experiment. The seeds were mounted on the station's exterior to expose them to microgravity and radiation, with the aim of measuring growth patterns, genetic expression and resilience and applying the findings to terrestrial crop production.
Founding story
Co-founders Dale and Angela Speetjens, a married couple and Auburn University graduates, combined his background in environmental design, landscape architecture and city planning with her background in horticulture and hydroponics. While completing his master's degree at Auburn, Dale proposed a pop-up district along an old railroad line near the Birmingham CrossPlex built from shipping containers and including shops, restaurants and hydroponic farms; that project inspired the couple to design an urban hydroponic farm in downtown Mobile. According to a co-founder interview, they founded the company in 2016 and acquired a test farm in the summer of 2017, growing in-ground crops alongside crops in a hydroponic greenhouse while building a prototype of the technology.
Business model
Shipshape designs and manufactures modular hydroponic farm systems that are sold to and operated by independent urban growers, or "agripreneurs," whom the company trains. It supplements the systems with continuing services including training, data analysis, systems performance reporting and monthly supply deliveries, and describes itself as pursuing diverse partnerships and revenue models. Manufacturing is carried out with partner BLOX.
Revenue is derived from the sale of modular Smart Farm systems and from recurring support to farm operators, including training, data analysis, performance reporting and monthly supplies. The company says it tracks revenue growth and the profitability of its customers as impact measures.
Traction
The company reports acquiring a test farm in 2017, supplying a CSA program, local restaurants and grocery stores, and landing its first system customer following its post-pandemic redesign. It was selected for the 2022 Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator class and, in March 2024, flew a lettuce and tomato seed payload to the International Space Station with ABOVE Space, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology and Gener8tor. It says it measures impact by revenue growth and customer profitability and produce quality.
Latest developments
In March 2024, Shipshape sent lettuce and tomato seeds to the International Space Station aboard the SpaceX Dragon SPX-30 mission as part of the MISSIE-19 experiment with ABOVE Space, supported by HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology and Gener8tor. As of October 2024, the seeds were due to return for testing at the company's farm at the Innovation Depot in Birmingham, with the company targeting a 20% improvement in growth rate to shorten its five-week cycle.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
The company operates in indoor vertical farming and controlled-environment agriculture. It positions itself against vertical farming operators concentrated in major U.S. cities by targeting other parts of the country, emphasizing reduced food miles, food-waste reduction, lower energy cost structure and placement of farms in areas affected by food deserts.
Shipshape emphasizes energy efficiency, citing measures it says reduce operating costs 60-70% relative to other vertical farms, a manufacturing partnership with BLOX intended to deliver economies of scale, a modular design refined beyond shipping-container dimensions, an app-controlled operating model with ongoing operator support, and forthcoming 3D-printed farm structures.
Technology
The core product is a modular, closed-loop hydroponic growing system for controlled-environment agriculture, monitored and automatically controlled through the "Digital Farmer" app. The company cites patented energy capture technology developed by the founders and claims water use 90% lower than conventional farming and power consumption 60-70% below a traditional vertical farm of comparable size. At its test facility the company reports a five-week growth cycle, compared with roughly 12 weeks for in-ground production and six to eight weeks in a greenhouse. Planned developments include the "Hab," a 3D-printed hydroponic living-building structure, and the use of ISS-exposed seeds to study radiation-induced genetic variation for improved crop varieties.
Go-to-market
The company sells systems to independent operators and supports them with training and services, works through a manufacturing partner (BLOX) and utility/industry partners such as Alabama Power, and has used accelerator programs including the Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator and Gener8tor for mentorship, partnerships and potential funding. Public visibility comes through interviews, university and regional news coverage, and social channels.
Urban "agripreneurs" and community-based operators who buy and run the modular farms, serving local markets; the founders' own early operations supplied a CSA program, local restaurants and grocery stores.
Geography
Founded around operations in Mobile, Alabama, the company was later described as Birmingham-based, with a farm at Birmingham's Innovation Depot, and states ambitions to expand across Alabama, nationally and internationally.
History
The founders acquired a test farm in 2017 and initially supplied their own Community Supported Agriculture program plus local restaurants and grocery stores. The original design housed hydroponic farms in up-cycled shipping containers, but was later redesigned into purpose-built modular units produced with manufacturing partner BLOX. During the pandemic the company reworked its farming approach, arriving at a system it says produces the equivalent of 5 acres of greens in 500 square feet, and signed its first customer. In 2022 Shipshape participated in the third class of the Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator. In March 2024 it flew a seed payload to the International Space Station, and by late 2024 was based in Birmingham with a farm at the Innovation Depot.
Risks & controversies
The founders identify high operating costs from energy-intensive vertical farming practices as a central challenge, along with the need to build consumer acceptance of controlled-environment agriculture produce and to counter perceptions that hydroponically grown food is less nutritious or flavorful than soil-grown alternatives. Earlier shipping-container designs were abandoned because their size constraints made profitable growing space difficult to achieve.
Compiled by commissioned research from 4 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 4
launches, deals, and filingsWith ABOVE Space and support from the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology and Gener8tor, Shipshape flew lettuce and tomato seeds to the ISS on the SpaceX Dragon SPX-30 resupply mission; the seeds were attached to the station's exterior to test exposure to microgravity and radiation.
Shipshape builds its modular container gardens with manufacturing partner BLOX, which it says enables economies of scale.
Shipshape Urban Farms was one of 10 startups in the third class of the Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator, seeking mentorship, partnerships and potential funding.
The founders acquired a test farm and grew in-ground crops alongside crops in a hydroponic greenhouse while building a prototype of the technology.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
Legal entities · 1
corporate structure▸Research sources · 4
primary sources listed
- Shipshape Urban Farmsigrowpreowned.com · web
4 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Shipshape Urban Farms do?
- Agritech company designing modular hydroponic farms that let operators grow about 5 acres of crops in 500 square feet.
- Who are Shipshape Urban Farms's investors?
- Shipshape Urban Farms's investors include Techstars.
- How much funding has Shipshape Urban Farms raised?
- Shipshape Urban Farms has disclosed $150K raised across 1 of its 2 known rounds.
- Where is Shipshape Urban Farms headquartered?
- Shipshape Urban Farms is headquartered in Mobile, US.